The best champagnes for Christmas 2026: our selection by stage of the meal and by budget

Christmas champagne isn’t just one bottle – it’s a whole selection. You don’t open the same bottle with the oysters on Christmas Eve, with the capon or with the Yule log, and you don’t place under the tree what you serve as an aperitif. Here is our selection for Christmas 2026, moment by moment, ranging from €31 to €300, including the prices listed in our cellar, the quantities to allow for and delivery times.

How many bottles should you allow for?

A 75 cl bottle serves six flutes. The guidelines we give to all our customers are: one bottle for every four guests for the aperitif, one for every two or three if the meal is accompanied by champagne, and one for every six for dessert. For ten people, with champagne as an aperitif and with dessert, five bottles will suffice — six to be on the safe side. Our guide to champagne styles and sweetness levels helps you navigate the differences between brut, extra-brut and demi-sec.

For the aperitif: fresh brut champagnes, under €45

A Christmas aperitif calls for a lively, approachable brut that you can open in plenty. Canard-Duchêne Brut Léonie Iconic (€31) offers the best value for money amongst the major houses;Ayala Brut Majeur (€35.80) showcases the freshness of Chardonnay; the Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial (€40) is the universal festive champagne; the Laurent-Perrier Cuvée (€40.50) and the Pol Roger Brut Réserve (€44.90) take finesse up a notch. Our Canard-Duchêne, Ayala, Moët & Chandon, Laurent-Perrier and Pol Roger guides provide detailed information on each house.

With oysters, salmon and scallops: Blanc de Blancs

Seafood calls for Chardonnay. Ruinart Blanc de Blancs (€90, or in the ‘Seconde Peau’ box) is a safe bet; Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs (€73.90) brings the chalky notes of Mesnil; the Deutz Blanc de Blancs 2019 (€78.95) is a pure and crisp vintage;the Ayala Brut Nature (€44.90), with no dosage, is the most incisive. Read our guides to Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Billecart-Salmon and Deutz, and browse our full range of Blanc de Blancs champagnes.

With capon, turkey and stuffed poultry: the winey ones

Roasted poultry calls for a full-bodied champagne. The Bollinger Special Cuvée (€56), made from Pinot Noir and aged in oak barrels, is perfect for this; the Billecart-Salmon Le Sous-Bois (€71.50) offers the buttery brioche notes of the forest; the Moët & Chandon Réserve Impériale (€55) offers the roundness typical of reserve wines; the Pol Roger Vintage 2018 (€78) adds the depth of a vintage champagne. Our Bollinger guide explains this style.

With the Yule log and red berries: rosés

A Yule log with red berries or raspberries pairs well with a blended rosé: the Billecart-Salmon Le Rosé (€69.95), pale and precise; the Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé (€75.90), crisp and fruity; the Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial (€49.35), which is rich and indulgent. With a chocolate Yule log, opt for a more full-bodied rosé such as the Deutz Brut Rosé (€57.90). All our rosé champagnes are listed on one page.

For gift-giving: prestige cuvées and gift sets

Under the Christmas tree, the bottle needs to stand out. The Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015 in a gift set (€239.90) remains the undisputed gift of choice — our guide to choosing a Dom Pérignon vintage will help you decide. Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame 2018 (€178.95), the Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque 2014 (€172) with its painted anemones, andthe Amour de Deutz 2013 (€189) are other superb bottles; for connoisseurs, the Krug Grande Cuvée 173rd Edition (€262) or Louis Roederer’s Cristal 2016 (€295). For a more modest budget, there are the Veuve Clicquot gift sets — ‘Arrow’ (€65.90) or ‘Sun Holder’ by Yinka Ilori (€59.63) — or the Ruinart ‘Seconde Peau’. Our guides to Veuve Clicquot, Perrier-Jouët, Krug and Cristal go into greater detail, and our article on giving champagne as a gift discusses the message that accompanies the bottle.

Large gatherings: magnums and jeroboams

For twelve or more guests, the large format is the way to go: it ages more slowly, serves twelve flutes and makes quite an impression. Pol Roger Brut Réserve magnum (€91.90), Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée magnum (€88.80), Billecart-Salmon Le Réserve magnum (€99.55), Canard-Duchêne Léonie magnum (€69.90), and for a real celebration, the Deutz Brut Classic jeroboam (€249, three litres).

Budget, delivery and lead times

To give you an idea: from €31 to €45 for a brut from a major house, €55 to €90 for a blanc de blancs, a rosé or a vintage, and €170 to €300 for a prestige cuvée. Delivery is free on orders of €300 or more in mainland France, and you’ll receive a €40 discount on orders of €600 or more and a €100 discount on orders of €1,200 or more. Order before mid-December: delivery services become very busy after that, and a shaken bottle needs two days’ rest before it can be opened. Take a look at our offers of the month and our full range of champagnes in the meantime.

Serving champagne on Christmas Eve

Chill the bottles four hours beforehand, to 8–10 °C for brut and rosé champagnes, and 10–12 °C for vintage and prestige cuvées; if you’ve forgotten, here’s our method for chilling a bottle quickly. Open the bottle quietly, with your hand on the cork — uncorking like a professional — and serve in a white wine glass rather than a narrow flute for premium bottles: our guide on which glass to use for champagne explains why. The rest of our houses and winemakers are waiting for you to create your own selection.